Communities Must Adapt to Climate Change

Climate change adaptation decreases the vulnerability of people and biological systems to the impacts of climate change. These impacts, such as droughts, sea level rises, and more intense storms, are already occurring, and are expected to increase in scale, frequency, and intensity.

Vulnerability to climate change depends on the nature and severity of the climate impact and capacity to cope with it.

Taking the Heat – Part 2

The following video was produced by C4D and the Food Security Working Group in 2007

Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change adaptation is the adjustment of ecosystems or human systems in response to the impacts of current of projected changes in climate caused by human-induced climate change. Adaptation responses then can be seen as a continuum:

At one end of the spectrum the focus is on the underlying causes of vulnerability — poverty and food insecurity for example (in most cases, this can be thought of as ‘development as usual’).

At the other end of the spectrum are responses to specific climate impacts — responding to a rise in sea level for example.

In the middle, organizations and individuals can build adaptive capacity through knowledge sharing and increasing awareness of climate impacts. And they can manage climate risk by integrating climate change into their programming, making sure all projects and investments are ‘climate proof’.